by Terry Spear
Chapter 7
Candice got up in the middle of the night to pour herself a glass of milk to help her sleep and saw Owen’s master bedroom door wide open. She peered in, but he wasn’t there. What was he doing? Was he having trouble sleeping like she was? Thinking about their kiss? Worried she was upset with him about wanting to court her exclusively?
He was hot and sexy and lovable. But she didn’t know enough about this business with male wolves and relationships. She definitely wanted to know the pack a little better. What if she really liked one of the other guys even more than she liked Owen? She couldn’t imagine it. Still, she had to know: Would another male wolf spin her world around like Owen’s touches did?
She saw the light on in the living room, and when she peered over the couch, she saw Owen sleeping soundly. She hadn’t heard the TV and wondered if he fell asleep there regularly. Walking around the couch, she saw a notebook lying open. She wondered if he journaled like she did. She knew she shouldn’t read what he’d written, but if he wanted to court her, he should be an open book, right? She was curious about what he might have said about her, so she leaned over gently, picking up the notebook.
She read—In Love with the She-Wolf—and stifled a laugh.
He was so cute. She got caught up in the beginning of his story, had to read until he ended it on a cliff-hanger, and nearly groaned out loud. He was searching for the wolf at the campsite but couldn’t reach her because of the humans with her.
Candice smiled, set the notebook back on the couch—belatedly realizing he’d know she’d read it because her scent was all over the pages—and went to grab her milk, then returned to bed.
And dreamed about the wolf watching her from across the river and not being able to meet up with him like two star-crossed lovers.
* * *
Owen couldn’t believe he’d fallen asleep on the couch last night while writing his first book. He immediately smelled Candice’s scent on his notebook—and every page that he’d written—and smiled. Then frowned. He hoped she thought he had some talent. Though he’d started the book on the computer, he’d begun a whole new different version in the notebook. Well, similar, but different.
After he took a shower and dressed, he saw her pouring herself a glass of orange juice in the kitchen.
“Couldn’t sleep last night?” she asked, smiling.
He smiled back. “Did you get in a little late-night reading?”
“About that—”
“I can take it. Bad, huh?”
“I hope you’re going to write what happened next, pronto.”
He laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. Great start. But now you’ve got to finish it.”
With her encouragement, he could do anything. “But first, we’ll take a run this morning, right?”
“Yeah, so you’ll have more scene material for your story.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad you liked it.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you a question ever since you introduced yourself.”
“Sure, ask away.” Owen started blueberry waffles and sausage links while she made toast and poured him coffee and hot water for her tea.
“Is it true about the Sheriff of Nottingham?”
He laughed. “Okay, to set the story straight, the office of high sheriff was created by the Normans who conquered England. It’s the oldest secular office created by the Crown. The High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and the Royal Forests was one of these. Some centuries later, separate appointments were made and my distant relation became the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire.”
“You’re pulling my leg.”
“Nope. Sir Robert Clifton of Clifton Hall in Nottingham was supposed to be one of our forefathers. A branch of the family later called themselves Nottingham. They were far removed from Sir Robert Clifton, and Nottingham was their birthplace, so they became Nottinghams. Of course, that meant putting up with all the ribbing about being related to the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham. We retold the story as such: Robin of the Hood was a thief and scoundrel. Wanting to get concessions from the king, he stole Lady Marion, the king’s cousin, and the sheriff was ordered to rescue her. By then, Maid Marion had fallen in love with the rake, but the sheriff was still under orders by the king’s authority and had to return her home. Thus, the sheriff became the villain.”
Candice laughed. “You, Sir Nottingham, are a storyteller at heart.”
Owen smiled at her and dished up the waffles and sausage. They decided to sit in the sunroom to eat. He loved it there at any time of day or night, but especially sitting there with Candice.
“This is lovely,” she said, motioning to the Christmas lights reflecting on the lake, “and great food. I haven’t had a break from cooking in practically two years.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” And he would happily do all the cooking if that encouraged her to stay here with him.
After eating, Owen was loading the dishwasher and Candice had begun to proof her book when someone knocked at the front door. He couldn’t imagine who would be there at this early hour. If it had been an emergency, Cameron or Faith would have just called him.
When he looked through the speakeasy window, he couldn’t believe David Davis was standing on his porch, grinning away, his shaggy brown hair neatly combed. Then again, if David had brought home a she-wolf, Owen would have been there to make sure he greeted her as soon as possible.
Owen wanted to pretend David was a salesman and tell him he didn’t want any. But he knew David wouldn’t go away. After Elizabeth, the white wolf who had freed them from the pack in Maine, had returned to her pack in the Arctic, David was just as available as the rest of the bachelor males. Owen had thought Elizabeth and David would become mated wolves, but she’d learned her grandmother needed her, and that was the end.
Owen let out his breath and opened the door, only to see Gavin pull his truck up right behind David’s. Hell, now he had to deal with both of them vying for Candice’s attention.
“I thought you both had jobs,” Owen said, trying to keep from sounding annoyed. Especially when he saw the flowers both of his friends had brought with them. Owen highly suspected they weren’t for him. Though he’d made the comment anyway.
They just laughed. “We wanted to welcome the she-wolf to the pack,” Gavin said.
“She’s not joining just yet,” Owen warned. He hadn’t wanted everyone to scare her off. “You better not have messed up your jobs. We need all the good referrals and reviews we can get.”
“No, they were quick jobs,” David said.
“Made quicker,” Gavin added, grinning. “And fully resolved to everyone’s liking, which means we’re available to help you with your job.”
They both smiled at Candice and she smiled back, shaking her head. “Thanks for the welcome and the flowers. Maybe you could help us with something though.”
Owen caught himself before he growled out loud. These guys didn’t need any encouragement.
She described what she and Owen were doing to provide a reasonable explanation for why she couldn’t see to her inheritance right away.
“I can work on the Photoshopped pictures,” David said.
“I can schedule a ton of Twitter announcements,” Gavin said.
“Good. We started on it last night, but with all four of us working on it, we can let my Uncle Strom know Owen located me overseas today. We were just going to go for a wolf run. Would you like to join us?”
Owen jumped in to nip that notion in the bud, hoping his partners would get a clue to get lost for a while. “I’m sure since they just got home, they want to unpack. Especially if they need to begin working on the blogs and all.”
“We’ll need to do it from here to ensure we are all on the same page. I’d love to go for a run,” Gavin said.
“Yeah, we a
lways have our running gear on us.” David handed her the vase of flowers.
She took both vases and set them on the kitchen bar. “They’re lovely. Thank you so much for the warm welcome.”
Owen gave them each a look that said that was as warm as the welcome needed to be.
She motioned to the hallway. “I’ll just be out in a minute if we’re ready to run.”
“Yeah,” Owen said. “We’ll meet you outside in our wolf coats.”
As soon as she left, the men started stripping, smiling. Owen assumed they had already seen her photo and knew she was a real looker, though her hair color, hairstyle, and eye color were very different from in the photo.
“I can’t believe you got the first job at the office, and you pick up an Arctic she-wolf.” David dropped his sweater on the back of the couch.
Gavin ditched his boots. “Yeah, we weren’t going in until later, figuring we wouldn’t receive any bites that early in the morning. Goes to show the early bird catches the—” He paused when he saw Candice in her wolf form coming down the hall. “Uh, yeah. The really good job.”
She woofed at them and headed out the back wolf door.
“Man, she’s fast.” David hurried to strip out of the rest of his clothes.
Owen knew she was fast, and so was he. He yanked off his boxers, shifted, and ran off to join her.
He found her checking out the woods nearby, smelling all the new smells after last night’s run. After getting over his initial surprise—and annoyance—he really didn’t mind that the guys were here. They had to meet her sometime. And he was glad they were going to help create her book tour to give her an alibi. He kept reminding himself he wanted the best for her. If she became interested in one of the other bachelor males, he was all right with it. Because no matter what, he wanted her to stay with the pack.
Yet when David and Gavin ran out to join them, Owen was having second thoughts. They greeted her like any of their wolf pack would, but he was having a time tamping down his need to claim her for his own. In theory, he wanted to be a nice guy. He didn’t want her to think he was an overbearing, possessive man. In reality, he was a wolf. And that trumped everything else.
He wanted to show her his favorite haunts, and thankfully, the guys ran along with them, exploring like wolves would, and let him take the lead. His favorite place to visit was the waterfalls. Every season brought spectacular new sights. Fall colors in oranges, yellows, purples, and reds. The blue falls frozen as they cascaded over the rocky cliffs in late winter. The spring greens and wildflowers of summer.
But then Gavin led her to his favorite place. The lighthouse. Owen hadn’t thought of that, but it was a lovely scenic spot he loved too. David took her to the lake where their cabins were situated and they could watch the sun rising, the oranges and yellows and pinks reflecting off the water.
Then they headed back to Owen’s cabin. They had a few hours before lunch with Cameron and Faith and the kids. Owen wondered if the other guys would join them. As soon as they got back, shifted, and dressed, they all sat down to begin creating Candice’s book-signing tour.
By the time they had it all figured out, it was time to eat lunch. Owen asked if Gavin and David wanted to go with them to Cameron and Faith’s place.
They both bowed out. “We’re going to continue to work on Candice’s cover story. We’ll do all we can, and then she can approve all of it when you arrive home,” Gavin said. “We’ll just stay here and keep working on it, if you don’t mind.”
“Yeah, we’ll grab a bite at the hamburger joint,” David added.
“Sounds good. Thanks,” Owen said.
“We’ll leave some of the gingerbread cookies Owen made for you. We’ll take the rest to the others.”
David smiled at Owen.
“He burned my cookies,” she explained.
The other guys laughed.
Owen was glad they were helping and not crowding in while Candice got to meet the rest of the pack. The kids could be overwhelming for someone who wasn’t used to them. “Oh, and the kids know there’s no wolf Santa now, but everyone plays along with the game anyway.”
“Wolf Santa?” she said smiling.
“Yeah. An Arctic wolf Santa. You know, because Arctic wolves are from the North Pole.”
She laughed. “I forget what it was like back then, believing in Santa Claus and the like.”
Owen hoped everyone made her feel completely welcome.
* * *
When they arrived at Faith and Cameron’s place for lunch, the air was filled with the aromas of chicken and acorn squash roasting in the oven, and fresh baked bread sitting on the counter. The house looked just as much like Christmas here, with the cheery fire glowing in the fireplace, lights everywhere.
The tree was seven feet tall and decorated with bows and ribbons, balls and lights, and everything else Christmassy. It made her tree look like a diminutive, practically barren version. Though she hadn’t needed anything bigger for just herself.
Faith greeted Candice with a hug and welcome to the pack, her blue eyes sparkling with cheer, her blond hair coiled up on top of her head. She was dressed in jeans and a Christmas sweater, sparkly and festive.
Cameron was handsome and just as blond and blue-eyed, though Candice liked the darker-haired guys herself. But they made a cute couple. He was wearing a matching blue sweater.
The three kids, all blonds, acted shy at first, standing back. The little girl wore pigtails with red-and-green bows, a red sweater, and jeans. She reminded Candice of when she was little and wore pigtails too.
“This is Angie, the youngest,” Faith said, patting her daughter on the shoulder. “This is Nick, middle child of the triplets.” She squeezed his hand. “And you’ve met Corey, though I guess only when he was a wolf pup.” She ruffled Corey’s hair. Then she said to Corey, “Did you have something to tell Candice?”
Even though Candice had met him as a wolf yesterday, Corey was eyeing her like he was afraid she might bite him. Then she smiled. “Well, do you still like beef jerky?”
He looked up at his mother as if that subject was taboo. “Tell her,” Faith urged.
He nodded.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Corey so subdued,” Owen said.
Everyone laughed.
But their shyness didn’t last past Candice asking the kids what their favorite games were. They grasped her hands to lead her into their bedrooms to show her. She glanced back at Owen, and for a minute, he wondered if she needed his rescue. He figured it would be good for her to be with the kids for a few minutes to show they could all be friends.
Cameron raised his brows at Owen in silent question: How was it going with the she-wolf?
Well, Owen thought. He told them about the book-signing tour. And he mentioned Gavin and David had unexpectedly dropped by to help him.
Cameron laughed. “You would have too, had you been the one on a different job. I’m not surprised at all.”
“Well, I was.”
Faith smiled as she began to serve the meal. “Owen, do you want to rescue Candice from the kids and tell them lunch is served?”
“Yeah.” He quickly headed for the bedrooms, hoping she was having fun and wasn’t thinking that she was getting herself into a real mess.
When he walked into Corey and Nick’s bedroom, what he saw was heartwarming. Both bunk beds were covered in stuffed animals. Angie was sitting on Candice’s lap while she sat on a big, blue beanbag chair. Corey was reading a story to them, and Nick was sitting on the other side of Candice, listening with rapt attention.
Candice looked like she fit right in with the wolf pack. Owen hated interrupting them, but he cleared his throat. “Your mom said lunch is ready.”
That had all the kids dashing out of the room. You’d think they’d been starved for hours. He offered Candice a hand up. “S
o what do you think?”
“They’re cute. But the triplets make me wonder—do all shifters have multiple child births?”
* * *
Candice swore Owen looked nearly panic-stricken when she asked about multiple births. She was just curious. She couldn’t imagine having a couple of kids at once, let alone three or more. How would she ever have time to write?
“Not always.”
“But more than normal, right?”
“Well, Leidolf, the red wolf I was telling you about, has twins.”
She nodded and took Owen’s hand as they walked back down the hall to the dining room to let him know it was okay. She wasn’t in panic mode or anything. Why would she be? She didn’t have a mate and had no intention of having kids for the next several years at least, not until she could get this shifting under control. She couldn’t even envision how hard that had to have been for Faith. Though Faith had the whole pack to help her out. That would make a big difference.
At lunch, they talked about a million different things, the kids adding discussion about what they liked to do at the lake—swimming, fishing, running. As long as one of the adults was always with them. And Faith said she’d started to read Candice’s books and loved them.
Candice beamed. “Thank you.” She’d never expected to end up with a fan from this visit. Then again, Owen was listening to her books too. “Owen’s started writing his own,” Candice said, proud of him.
Faith’s jaw hung a little. “Really?”
“As long as they’re not star-crossed lovers…” Candice said.
“Romances have happily ever afters. I know something about it,” Owen said.
Smiling, Cameron just shook his head.
“I think it’s a great idea.” Faith began to clear the dishes off the table and Candice hurried to help her.
“I agree. He’s got real talent. He even left the story on a cliff-hanger, making me want to read more.” Candice suddenly got a call, so she washed and dried her hands, then fished her phone out of her pocket. She didn’t recognize the caller’s number, so she figured it was spam and let it go to voicemail. The caller identified himself as Rowdy Sanderson, the homicide detective from Montana who must have learned who owned the house where the wolf tracks had led.